The ECU SCREENS summer season continues on Friday, July 14 with George Bernard Shaw’s “St. Joan,” starring Gemma Arterton in the title role as the French national heroine Joan of Arc.
Recorded live at the Donmar Warehouse in Covent Garden, London, Shaw’s classic drama will be presented in the Raymond J. Estep Multimedia Center of the Bill S. Cole University Center at 7 p.m. on Friday, July 14, the 228th anniversary of the storming of the Bastille Prison, which launched the French Revolution.
From the torment of the Hundred Years' War, the charismatic Joan of Arc led a shocking victory over the English that has inspired the French people for centuries. Daughter, farm girl, visionary, patriot, soldier, leader, victor, radical, witch, heretic, saint, martyr, woman: Joan is an unparalleled figure in world history.
Gemma Arterton (Gemma Bovery, Nell Gwynn, Made in Dagenham), who played “Bond Girl” Strawberry Fields in 2008’s Quantum of Solace, delivers an “electrifying” performance as the warrior who was later canonized as a Roman Catholic saint (Time Out). “Arterton’s Joan radiates a gentle simplicity and quiet fervour that are deeply charismatic,” according to reviewer Paul Taylor of London’s The Independent, who also marvels at the “highly recommended” production’s many resonances with contemporary global politics.
“St. Joan” (run-time: two hours, 38 minutes) will include a 20-minute intermission, during which ECU SCREENS will serve free ice cream. General admission tickets are $10. Tickets are $5 for ECU students.
ECU SCREENS is collaborating with Sigma Tau Delta and The Honors Student Association to host this and other productions by NT Live, the National Theatre's groundbreaking project to broadcast the best of British theatre to cinemas around the world. The next ECU SCREENS presentation will be Edward Albee’s “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?”, starring Imelda Staunton, on Tuesday, July 25 at 6:30 p.m.
To learn more about ECU SCREENS and upcoming events, like the ECU SCREENS Facebook page or visit www.ecuscreens.blogspot.com. Contact Dr. Rebecca Nicholson-Weir,
co-director of ECU SCREENS, at (580) 559-5929 or rnichlsn@ecok.edu. For more information about the Royal National Theatre in Great Britain and other NT Live screenings, visit www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/.
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